Pinstripe Empire History of New York Yankees Rules the Book Shelves

Marty Appel's time working with and within the New York Yankees organization gave him the perfect insight to write his latest book, "Pinstripe Empire: From Before The Babe to After The Boss". It's a summation of baseball's most successful franchise from their humble beginnings as the New York Highlanders, through 27 world championships, and up to their playoff failings in 2011. 



The book begins with the idea of bringing a team to New York and the construction of Hilltop Park that would house the Highlanders, the pre-cursor to the Yankees. Those teams included Jack Chesbro, who won a team record 41 games. But save for one season, those Highlanders team were usually at the bottom of the barrel. 

Things would change with the acquisition of Babe Ruth, the construction of Yankee Stadium, and shrewd ownership and management. The first World Series title came in 1923 and Ruth hit his prodigious 60 home run in 1927. That was the year the lineup was known as Murderer's Row and to this day they are still part of the great debate as to which was the greatest Yankees squad of all time - '27, '39, '61 or '98? (For that matter the greatest team of all time.) I found it fascinating to compare and contrast the ownership over the years (e.g. Ruppert and Topping) and the styles of the managers (Huggins, McCarthy, Stengel, Martin, etc.).

The book allows all Yankees fans to share in those moments experienced in person or through the media, be reminded of moments forgotten, and to learn things anew. (I could name hundreds of Yankees off the top of my head, but I never had heard of one of their early great relievers, Johnny Murphy.) One of things I really enjoyed about the book is that it does not have to be read beginning with page one. (Though there are wonderful introductions from Yankees' greats Yogi Berra and Bernie Williams to kick things off.) 

I read the book in reverse order, going over 10 to 20 year periods at a time, starting with the reclamation of the 1990's up through today. It was a joy to relive the moment Charlie Hayes' squeezed the final out in Game 6 of the '96 series. It was the title that ended a drought of 18 seasons without a championship. 

Then it was on to the early 1970's when the Yankees began to be relevant again with new young stars like (my personal favorite) Bobby Murcer, Thurman Munson, Graig Nettles, and Chris Chambliss. It was a tumultuous time in baseball with the advent of free agency and the beginning of large player contracts (slim by comparison to today's deals), the inception of the DH in the American League (the Yankees' Ron Blomberg was the first to officially bat), the revolving door of managers- with Billy Martin seemingly caught inside the door - Steinbrenner's constant interference with all decisions, the renovation of Yankee Stadium and a temporary home at Shea Stadium, and last, but not least, the wife swap between pitchers Fritz Peterson (permanent) and Mike Kekich (temporary). 

It was also a time when young fans like me really got into baseball. Some of those Yankees teams came close to reaching the playoffs, but couldn't win the division when a division title meant everything. That all changed of course when a ship builder named George M. Steinbrenner III bought the Yankees from CBS. Appel did a great job of balancing his story telling between the early, crazed Boss with the later sentimental, sedate one. 

You can relive the race between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle to pass Babe Ruth's single season home run record as part of the great 1961 squad. Unfortunately, it was also the beginning of the end for the great Yankees teams. They won five consecutive pennants from 1960-1964 with two World Series titles, but by 1965 the team was in disarray. The farm system lacked talent and the Yankees greats retired or were in the process of putting a wrap on their careers. If you were lucky enough, you were too young to remember the worst of the worst- 9th and 10th (last place) finishes in 1966 and 1967. 

Going back further, it's still hard to believe the glory years of the 1930 through the 1950's when managers Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel combined for 18 pennants and 14 World Series titles (Bucky Harris also won a championship in 1947). Those teams had larger than life players in Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle, and Ford. You learn just what a corporation the Yankees really were. When a player was no longer useful, he was quickly shipped out, no matter how big a star he may have been. 

All of the above is just the tip of the iceberg. Even if you are not a Yankees fan, this is a great read to learn about the greatest franchise in baseball history. And if you are a Yankees fan, you'll enjoy knowing more about the franchise than you thought imaginable.